Mommy Dearest
by BrilliantDarkness
Summary: While Dr. Reid is working through his issues regarding his mother's illness, the team is called to find someone solving mommy issues in a very sinister way. Teen rating is for some descriptions of violence and crime scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**Mommy Dearest**

The scene opens in a psychiatrist's office. It is a dark, but not foreboding office. There is soft lighting and subtle feminine touches are here and there. Spencer Reid sits on the edge of a couch cushion as if waiting to be launched off of it. His hands are clasped in his lap. He looks up at the doctor earnestly.

Reid: So, what do you think, is it happening to me now? Am I going to be like her?

Dr. Sarah Paulson almost choked up a little at the childlike nature of his question. This man who sat in front of her could solve some of the world's most baffling questions and yet still sat there looking so like a frightened little boy. A part of her wanted to rock him like the child he seemed to be. It probably didn't help that he looked considerably younger than his almost 30 years. How he could see the things he had seen and endure the things he endured and still look such the child, well, if she believed in miracles, she'd say she was looking at one now.

Dr. Paulson: Spencer, I understand your fear. You have seen the worst of what this illness has to offer and suffered surely as much as your poor mother has. I know I don't have to tell you, of all people, the statistics regarding heredity and the occurrence in the highly gifted…

Reid starts to speak as if compelled to rattle off the statistics, his lifelong safety net but the doctor continues.

Dr. Paulson: Spencer, in this area, your emotions and your mental health, you are exceptionally normal, as much as I loathe the term. I know it's one you've not often heard applied to you. The simple truth is that you have feelings, emotions. They are normal. There are things that affect you as they would anyone else. If you dream things, it is not some sneaky psychosis; it is you trying to make some sense out of the senselessness that you see everyday. If you see things, well, you've proven that you know they aren't really there…they are the dreams crossing into the waking. It is nothing more than this. And consult your precious statistics, Spencer, they will tell you that the onset of schizophrenia become progressively rare as one ages. You may still be the youngest in your peer group but you are quickly approaching 30. It is natural and normal to have fears and some are even healthy but this is one you need to kick to the side, Spencer.

Reid looks as though he is pondering this and wanting to believe every word; knowing that he should believe it. Knowing it was all the truth.

*****************

Night now and we see Reid has fallen asleep while reading. A large leather bound tome is open on his chest. A small reading light is on, less an indication that its owner was reading and more indicative of Spencer Reid's incurable fear of the dark. In the peaceful room, a ringing phone jolts Reid awake.

Reid: Reid….yeah….I'll be right there.

Still groggy but waking up faster, Reid run his fingers through his hair trying to look somewhat less disheveled. He grabs his away bag and jacket and runs out the door.

********************

On the jet, the team huddles around the table looking at folders and photos.

J.J.: Three women so far…two bodies and one still missing.

Hotch: How much time between abduction and death?

J.J.: So far it's been four days from abduction to discovery of the body but the women are killed at least a day before they are dumped.

Morgan: The missing woman…

J.J.: Erica Chase?

Morgan: Yeah, how long has she been missing?

J.J.: Three days.

There is silence among the team. Most look out the window as if that could make the jet go faster and somehow get them there in time to save Erica Chase. Reid continues looking through the assorted files, brows furrowed.

On the ground and the team is just pulling up to the dump site where many marked local police cars are congregated.

Reid (in voice over): Poet and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh said, "People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown they prefer suffering that is familiar."

The team approaches Detective Gayle Andrews.

Det. Andrews: Please say you guys are the FBI.

Hotch: SSA Hotchner, (gesturing to the other members of the team) SSA's Prentiss, Jareau, Morgan and Dr. Reid. Is this where you found the last body?

Det. Andrews: Yeah and about 50 or so yards that way is where we found the first.

Hotch looks up to see that Reid, Morgan and Rossi are all already wandering among the site and turns to Prentiss.

Hotch: I guess it's you and me to the M.E.'s office.

J.J.: I'll head in with you guys too.

The dump site for the bodies is a wooded area just off of a nicely paved path obviously intended for running and biking. Police tape lines a relatively large area where two crime scenes are distinctly marked.

Morgan: It's really quite peaceful and pretty here. Do you suppose the unsub felt some sort of remorse?

Reid: The bodies were found literally dumped, not posed and naked in the open. That doesn't seem remorseful. More likely that this place has some sort of meaning for him.

Rossi: Not a happy one either.

*************

Meanwhile, at the Morgue.

M.E.: The C.O.D is exsanguination. There are ligature marks on the wrists and ankles of both victims. Multiple stab wounds.

Prentiss: Sexual assault?

M.E.: With the knife. When the bodies were found, the knife was still inside the victims.

Prentiss: The face is slashed beyond recognition.

Hotch: Yet the teeth are intact as are the fingers. The unsub isn't trying to obscure their identities.

Prentiss: He just hates their faces.


	2. Chapter 2

At the crime scenes, Morgan, Reid and Rossi are still poking around looking for anything that might give them and idea of what they are looking for. Morgan answers his phone.

Morgan: Hey gorgeous what you got for me?

Garcia: How about my heart, body and soul forever…or just my body for a night.

Morgan (chuckling slightly): I'll settle for some info on our victims.

Garcia: Your loss, Loverboy. So Jacqueline Mason aged 20. She was a biochem major, blonde. She went out for a jog in the evening. Her roommate reported her missing when she wasn't home the next morning. Vanessa Warner 23, African-American. Pre-school teacher. She was reported missing when she failed to show for her wedding rehearsal. Originally local law enforcement just thought it was a case of cold feet. Until they found her. And last but not least, Erica Chase. She's 19. She called a friend to confirm a meeting at the library and then she never…

There is suddenly activity swirling toward the three agents who have been listening to Garcia on speaker.

Morgan: Hold on, Baby Girl…Something's up.

Morgan turns to Reid who had gone to ask the locals what was going on.

Reid: Erica Chase just showed up.

Back at the police station, the team is continuing to work on the case each in his or her own way. J.J. is working the phones obviously trying to balance public safety against the danger of creating a panic. Prentiss and Rossi are bouncing ideas off of each other. Hotch is staring at the boards filled with photos and hastily written notes as if willing the answers to appear. Morgan is pacing and talking to himself in an effort to place himself in the mind of the unsub. Reid is rapidly reading through the files.

Hotch: Reid, you getting anything?

Reid: Just trying to make some sense of the victimology…(his voice trails off)

Reid: Hotch, I think we can give our profile now.

Hotch: Our unsub is most likely a white male between the ages of 35 and 50 years of age. The bodies were not wheeled to the dump site so we know we are looking for a reasonably strong and able-bodied man.

Prentiss: He spends a good deal of time with the women both before and after they are killed so we believe he either lives in or has access to a very remote location. One where no one will hear what is going on.

Rossi: There is a tremendous amount of rage in what he does. Much of this seems to revolve around sex as the bodies are assaulted with the knife.

Det. Andrews: So we're looking for some sort of sexual sadist?

Reid: Actually, sexual sadistic killers are very rare and the very few there are have been much more organized than this guy. This is a release for rage but I doubt there is any desire for actual sexual pleasure to be derived from this. A sadist causes pain and suffering because he enjoys that suffering of others. Our unsub probably isn't even noticing the pain or suffering he is inflicting. Looking at the victims, the one and only thing they seem to have in common is that they are women.

Morgan: A female caregiver, probably mother or grandmother wronged him in some way. Whether it was real or his perception is not important. He now sees that everything wrong with his life is the fault of one woman or another. In fact, even in the most normal and casual encounters with women say a cashier at a store, his contempt would be visible. Because of this, he probably doesn't have a job. If he does, it is either one where he is on his own or he is self-employed. There is no way he could hold down a job where he would have to be anywhere near a woman.

J.J.: I'm going to need to set up a press conference to get the word out. Women need to be on guard and someone out there has seen this guy and just didn't know what they were looking at.


	3. Chapter 3

It is after the profile briefing and the agents are separating.

Hotch: Prentiss and I are going to interview families and the last people to see our victims alive.

Rossi: They found Vanessa Warner's car. I'm headed there now with Det. Andrews.

Morgan: I think I'll stay with the kid…he looks like he might be on to something.

A woman in her mid 20's is walking through a parking structure. She has dark hair and even darker eyes. Quite pretty though very frazzled and obviously at the end of a long day. She is just reaching for the door handle on her car when an arm extends from the side of a van parked right next to hers. That hand covers her mouth while the other hand holds a knife to her throat. She is pulled inside the van.

Back at the station, the agents are just getting ready to head out the door.

J.J.: Guys, you need to find this guy sooner rather than later. He just got another one.

J.J.: Marisa Connors. She's 25. A teller at a bank. She was reported missing when she failed to pick her daughter up from day care.

Prentiss: How do we know this is the same guy?

Rossi: We don't for sure but if it is, he's accelerating the time between abductions. He may also speed up how fast he kills. I'd say we can't afford to think this is anything else.

Reid and Morgan are still at the station. Reid is feverishly reading through the files.

Morgan: Hey, calm down buddy. If you'd tell me what you're looking for, I could help you find it.

Suddenly Reid stops looking and grabs his phone.

Garcia: High priestess of all knowledge useful and non. Speak and ye shall be heard.

Reid: Hey Garcia…can you get me some older maps of the town. Before the path was through and paved?

Garcia: Sweetie, for you, anything, they should be on their happy little way momentarily.

Morgan: Still think there is something about the site?

Reid: I'm almost certain.

Reid continues to analyze the maps that have just come in.

Reid: It was railroad tracks.

Morgan: What was?

Reid: The path and there were farms that backed up to the tracks right around where all three bodies were dumped.

Morgan picks up his phone.

Garcia: Penelope Garcia Princess of Power.

Morgan: Hey Sweetness, the boy wonder here can't shake the thought that the unsub has a history with this spot. With that general area where the bodies were found. Apparently there used to be farms right around there.

Garcia: So I should be checking for potential trauma. How far back are we looking?

Morgan raises an eyebrow at Reid.

Reid: Ah… well, the unsub is most likely 35 to 50. Go back at least 50 years just to be on the safe side.

Garcia: I'm on it baby cakes.

Morgan: So, Kid, I know you've been, um, talking to someone lately.

Reid: She's a psychiatrist. I...I…just needed…

Morgan: Relax. We all need to talk it out from time to time. This job, it can really get to you.

Reid: It's not about the job. It's my mom. I guess I've always feared ending up like her.

Morgan: So how's it going?

Reid: Apparently I am…normal.

The last word is said with a certain sense of wonderment and what almost might be regarded as pride. Morgan is ready with a witty comeback but before he can utter anything, the phone rings.

Morgan: Talk to me Baby Girl.

Garcia: Well give the kid a gold star. There were certainly some dastardly things going on at the old Monroe farm. Files and articles are all being sent as we speak.

Reid (already entranced by the files on the screen and speaking sort of absently): Thanks Garcia….

Morgan: What he means is…

Garcia: Hey, I don't need an interpreter, I too speak fluent Reid. You are very welcome my little sugar plums. Now go catch the bad guy and save the maiden.

Hotch and Prentiss are seated in a living room across from a middle aged woman who is apparently a co-worker of Marisa Connors. Hotch's phone rings and he excuses himself while Prentiss continues talking to the co-worker.

Hotch is obviously affected by what he is hearing.

Down in a basement where there is only one light and it is swinging from a cord causing the illumination to be spotty at best. Tied to a bare, blood stained bed is the young woman, Marisa Connors. Her face is tear-lined and bloodied. There are cuts peppering her arms and torso. A shadow darkens her face and her eyes widen as she whimpers.

Marisa: Please, don't…PLEASE…NO!!

Back to the station where Reid has read enough and has jumped up and grabbed Morgan by the arm trying to pull him out of the building.

Reid: We've got to go!

Morgan: Whoa slow down…

Reid: No time.

Reid, still tugging at Morgan picks up his phone as if to make a call and seems only mildly surprised when it rings.

Hotch's voice through the phone: Reid, Morgan…we've got something. The M.E. just called and there was a newspaper clipping stuffed in the body of Erica Chase. It's about a young man named…

Reid (simultaneously with Hotch's voice): Daniel Monroe.

By now Reid and Morgan are driving and we see the rest of the team en route as well and listening to Reid on speaker.

Reid: About 20 years ago when Daniel was about 14, his father left. Daniel's mother was known to have had many affairs and was apparently not very affectionate to Daniel. About that same time Daniel's brother graduated high school and went into the army. Daniel burned down the family home killing his mother in the process. Daniel had an older sister who had him committed. He was released when he was 21 and had been making a living as an auto mechanic. About a month ago, around the time of the first abduction, Daniel received word that his brother had been killed in Afghanistan.

Black SUV's and marked and unmarked local police units all converge on a dusty piece of property with a simple ranch style home that looks as if it has been placed in the precise center of nowhere. The team enters the house quietly. If Marisa is still alive, they don't want to spook Daniel Monroe into killing her. Prentiss and Hotch head to the basement to find it empty except for the bleeding, half naked Marisa. Hotch notifies the team that he has the girl and requests an ambulance. Upstairs the rest of the team is searching for Monroe. Tentatively pushing open a door to a bedroom, Reid comes face to face with Daniel Monroe. Reid identifies himself as FBI and Monroe prepares to take a shot. Reid fires first but manages to only clip Monroe's arm.

Reid (under his breath): Dammit!

Reid readies to fire again as a shot rings out and Monroe collapses to the ground. Reid turns around and sees Morgan holstering his weapon.

Reid: Thanks man.

Morgan: From now on I go in first.

Reid: You really want me behind you with a gun?

On the jet back home, the majority of the team is fast asleep. Reid is staring ahead lost in the shadows of his own mind.

Morgan: So you're normal?

Reid: Who would have guessed?

Morgan: Not me, that's for sure.

As Morgan laughs, Reid smiles and returns to his thoughts.

Voice of Reid: Salvador Dali once said, "There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad."

That's it. It's my first and I thank those who have responded for their kind words. And I also thank those who have chosen not to point out the few little typos that I have missed. I do welcome all reviews, good, bad or indifferent.


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